EU warns China on trade gap

European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson warned China it could face anti-dumping measures if it did not move to rein in an "unsustainable" trade surplus, the Financial Times said Friday.
Reiterating comments he made in Washington this month highlighting Brussels' concern ahead of a Sino-EU summit in Beijing next week, Mandelson said China had to take much more resolute action than it had done so far.
"Europe is becoming more open to China, but I can't sustain that unless China shows the same openness to us," Mandelson told the newspaper in an article appearing before he was due to arrive in Shanghai on Friday.
He warned he would come under increasing pressure to take tougher action if Beijing did not work to reduce market barriers.
"During the six days that I spent in China, the trade deficit will grow by over two billion euros, or 15 million euros an hour, that is what I call unsustainable," he said.
"There are real issues of market access, legal protection, as well as the other issues we are dealing with -- like counterfeiting and export of fake goods."
Like the United States the EU remains frustrated with selective market access and an exchange rate policy widely believed to be fuelling growth in the trade deficit.